Consolidate Perception, Avoid High Intensity; Slack Through Extra Training, Steadily Build Value

By the time the night had mostly faded, Tang San was awakened by the wind outside the window. He opened his eyes and looked at the book on plant martial soul perception that Master Yu Xiaogang had lent him by his pillow, not hurrying to get up. He had spent half the night exhausted from practicing perception-based evasion yesterday. Today, he needed to rest more before morning training and figure out how to save enough Slacking Value for the next round.

Wang Hu and the other two in the dormitory were still asleep. Tang San turned over, closed his eyes, and continued resting. Only when the morning training ground's horn sounded outside did the three suddenly wake up and hurriedly get dressed. "Tang San, get up! Today's morning training is to reinforce perception evasion. Teacher Zhang said he's increasing the difficulty, and the wooden chips will be thrown faster. If we're late, we definitely won't keep up!" Wang Hu shouted as he tied his belt, urgency in his voice.

Tang San slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What's the rush? The horn has only sounded once. We still have fifteen minutes before assembly. I'll wash up first. You guys go save us spots in the middle so we don't stand on the edges and get hit by wooden chips." He deliberately dawdled while looking for his clothes. Only after Wang Hu and the others ran out in a panic did he take a towel to wash up. He even deliberately filled another basin of water to wipe his face. By the time he headed for the morning training ground, the students had already formed up.

Deliberately delayed arriving at morning training, avoiding prematurely high-intensity preparation. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 5 points.

At the morning training ground, Teacher Zhang held a basket of wooden chips, with two students standing beside him to help throw them. "Today, we'll practice 'high-speed wooden chip perception evasion.' The chips will be thirty percent faster than yesterday. Each person must dodge twenty chips to pass. Anyone who fails will run eight laps!" As soon as Teacher Zhang finished speaking, the wooden chips in his hand shot out with a whoosh.

Tang San stood at the back of the line and summoned Blue Silver Grass. Unlike the others, he did not spread it out to expand his perception range. He merely let the blades of grass sway gently before him, deliberately slowing his perception. Faced with the high-speed wooden chips, he dodged only twelve in front of him. The remaining eight "just happened" to brush past the corners of his clothes, making it seem as though he could not keep up with their speed.

"Tang San, why did you only dodge twelve? Speed it up!" Teacher Zhang walked over with a frown. "Didn't I teach you the technique for speeding up perception yesterday? Why are you still so slow?"

"Teacher, my Soul Power is weak, so I can't increase my perception speed. Going too fast makes me dizzy, so I can only do my best to dodge." Tang San pretended to stagger and steadied himself against the student beside him. "Look, dodging those twelve chips just now already used up half my Soul Power. If I go any faster, I won't be able to hold on."

Used "insufficient Soul Power" as a reason to reduce evasion speed, avoiding excessive consumption. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 6 points.

Teacher Zhang said nothing further and merely told him to "practice once more." During the second round, Tang San still dodged only thirteen chips, exactly one more than the first time. It showed improvement without reaching the passing standard. Teacher Zhang could only helplessly assign him "an extra half hour of practice in the afternoon" rather than make him run laps.

After morning training ended, Xiao Wu handed him a handkerchief. "Tang San, you clearly could have dodged more wooden chips. Why did you deliberately slow down? Teacher Zhang was practically getting angry."

"Dodging too many uses Soul Power. I still have extra training this afternoon, so I need to conserve my strength." Tang San wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Come on, let's eat at the cafeteria. We need to get there early today, or the pork rib soup will be gone."

As the two headed toward the cafeteria, they ran into Master Yu Xiaogang. He was holding the book on plant martial soul perception from yesterday and had apparently come to retrieve it. "Tang San, have you finished the book? After training this afternoon, come to my office. I'll teach you the 'perception prediction technique.' It lets you sense an enemy's attack direction in advance and will help you in real combat later."

Tang San's heart stirred, and he wanted to find an excuse to decline. Before he could speak, however, Master Yu Xiaogang continued, "Don't make excuses. I've already told the cafeteria to save you a bowl of pork rib soup. Eat, then hurry to training. Come straight to my office after your extra practice this afternoon."

With no other choice, Tang San nodded. "Understood, Master." He handed over the book, but inwardly he calculated that the afternoon's extra practice and Master's instruction were connected. He needed to find a way to reduce his expenditure and could not let his Soul Power run dry.

The morning's extra class was "Soul Power endurance perception practice"—the students had to use their martial souls to continuously sense their surroundings for half an hour without interruption, thereby training the endurance of their perception. Wang Hu and the others all had martial soul perception ranges of more than one zhang, and their Soul Power Fluctuations were obvious. Only Tang San's Blue Silver Grass perception range had shrunk to half a zhang, with only twenty percent of his Soul Power released, making it look as though it might break off at any moment.

"Tang San, expand your perception range a little more! How can you train endurance with such a tiny range?" Teacher Li, who was overseeing the training, walked over with a frown.

"Teacher, I don't have much Soul Power. If I expand the range, I won't last half an hour. Half a zhang is just enough for me to persist until the end, which is better than stopping halfway through." Tang San hurriedly said, and the Blue Silver Grass in his hand weakened a little more. "Look, I've already used up thirty percent of my Soul Power. If I expand the range any further, I definitely won't be able to endure."

Teacher Li considered it and found his reasoning sensible, so he could only nod. "Fine. Then maintain this range. Don't stop halfway through."

Used "lasting until the end" as a reason to shrink perception range, avoiding excessive consumption. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 7 points.

After the extra class ended, Tang San hurried toward the cafeteria. He had barely eaten that morning and was already starving. As soon as he arrived, he saw Wang Hu and the other two waiting for him. "Tang San, your perception range was way too small just now. We could sense movements three zhang away, but yours was only half a zhang."

"My Soul Power is weak. There's nothing I can do. I'll take it slowly." Tang San picked up a meat bun and ate it at an unhurried pace. "There's extra training and Master's instruction this afternoon. Hurry and eat, or you'll be late."

The afternoon extra practice was "perception evasion correction"—Teacher Zhang personally instructed the students who had failed, correcting their movements one-on-one. When it was Tang San's turn, Teacher Zhang had him stand inside a circle and slowly threw wooden chips at him. "Focus when you sense them. Spread Blue Silver Grass out a little more and predict the wooden chips' direction in advance!"

Following the instructions, Tang San expanded his perception range slightly, but deliberately slowed his prediction speed. Every time, he "just happened" to dodge when a wooden chip was about to hit him. Occasionally, he even "accidentally" stepped outside the circle. "Teacher, I still can't predict accurately. I keep stepping outside the circle." He put on a guilty expression. "How about you throw them a little slower? Let me get used to it some more."

Teacher Zhang could only helplessly slow the wooden chips down. By the time the extra practice ended, Tang San had barely dodged fifteen wooden chips and still had not reached the passing standard. Teacher Zhang could only tell him to "practice again tomorrow."

Used "adjusting to the speed" as a reason to lower training intensity, avoiding excessive consumption. Slacking Value +1. Current total: 8 points.

After the extra practice ended, Tang San dragged his "exhausted" body toward Master Yu Xiaogang's office. Inside, Master Yu Xiaogang had already set up several wooden stakes. Each stake had a rope tied to it, with a wooden chip bound to the other end. "Today, I'll teach you the 'perception prediction technique.' Stand in the middle. Use Blue Silver Grass to sense the direction in which the wooden chips on the stakes are swaying, predict the ropes' trajectories in advance, and avoid the wooden chip attacks."

Tang San followed the instructions, stood in the middle, and summoned Blue Silver Grass. He deliberately released only thirty percent of his Soul Power and slowed his perception speed. Every time, he "just happened" to dodge when a wooden chip was about to reach him. Occasionally, he even "failed to predict it," letting the chip brush past his clothes.

"Predict earlier! Focus when you sense them!" Master Yu Xiaogang frowned. "Didn't you practice properly this afternoon? Why hasn't your prediction speed improved at all?"

"Master, the afternoon extra practice used too much of my Soul Power. I'm a little tired now, so I can't increase my prediction speed." Tang San pretended to feel dizzy and rubbed his forehead. "How about we practice tomorrow? I'll have more energy tomorrow, and I'll definitely learn it."

Master Yu Xiaogang glanced at him and took out a Soul Power recovery pill from his robes. "Take this and recover some Soul Power. You must learn the basics of prediction today."

With no other choice, Tang San accepted the pill and swallowed it. Before long, a considerable amount of his Soul Power had recovered. He had no choice but to slightly increase his prediction speed. He barely dodged ten wooden chip attacks, but still deliberately lagged by half a beat and did not reach the proficient standard.

"Forget it. We'll stop here for today and reinforce it tomorrow." Master Yu Xiaogang said helplessly. "Go back and rest properly. Don't make excuses again tomorrow."

Forced to increase prediction speed. No Slacking Value gained, but by "lagging by half a beat," excessive performance was reduced and no points were deducted.

By the time he left the office, it was already dark. Xiao Wu was waiting at the door. "Tang San, why did you come out so late? I've been waiting for you for an hour. I thought the teacher had punished you."

"No. Master was teaching me perception prediction. I practiced for a long time before barely learning it." Tang San stretched lazily. "Come on, let's go eat at the cafeteria. I'm starving."

As they headed toward the cafeteria, Tang San calculated inwardly. He had saved four points of Slacking Value today. Although Master had forced him to practice the technique, he had still gained something overall. As long as he kept this pace, he would definitely save enough Slacking Value for the next Soul Power exchange.

The cafeteria lights were still on. Tang San looked at the food before him and ate slowly. He knew that as long as he kept slacking off, his "path to the pinnacle of slacking" would continue onward. Even with Master's supervision and extra practice, he could still find opportunities to slack off and steadily grow stronger.